The ‘New Homeless’

One driver of change I haven't discussed yet is a changing economy. In most developed countries, high levels of GDP usually indicate a sign of a strong economy. The general understanding is that the more we buy and own the better off we are. The biggest purchase for most individuals is their home. We have been fortunate to own two homes over the years and enjoy the many wonderful aspects about home ownership. Along with that, comes the largest output of money, time and energy. With a deepening global economic crisis, more often, people are either losing their homes or unable to buy one. Many are finding themselves having to think of other options like, renting, cohabiting, living with friends or relatives and sometimes homeless. My daughter, Emi majored in Social Work and informed me that except for renting, the rest of these categories are officially considered 'homeless!’ If that's the case then we have been homeless since May.

Since we are nomads by choice and have found some interesting positive points to our situation, I'd prefer to call it by a fancier name. Something like, 'nouveau sans maison' or the 'New Homeless' sounds potentially fashionable (humor me please). I'd like to share our circumstances, experiences and some pros and cons regarding owning and maintaining a home and all of the 'things' that go with it, or bartering, sharing and doing without.

About six years into our twelve-year stay in Las Vegas, I remember having a conversation with my brother- in-law. We were discussing the various assets (or liabilities) we had accumulated almost on a yearly basis, since returning to the states. The first year we brought a car, the second year another car, then a bigger house, a time-share and then the highlight of the American dream, a business. At our peak, the stress and financial load of keeping all those plates spinning was difficult, at best. Eventually, we had to make a choice between saving our health, marriage and peace of mind or hanging on at all costs, hoping everything would pay off and our business and/ or our home would eventually give us some kind of future security. This is a dilemma faced by many. Within the proceeding six years we narrowly sold our business in 2007, crashed some cars, gave back our timeshare (although paid-off, maintenance tripled and wasn't worth the stress of maintaining), and sold our house (with no profit). When I recalled this progression of gain and loss to my Mom recently, I added, "and now, we’ve never been happier." We are finding that having less leads to less stress and fewer funds funneling out.

In preparation for our move to Japan, we then sold, recycled and gave away almost everything else we owned, which I thought wasn't much to begin with. Upon entering our homes, people would often noticed the scarcity of things and comment, "did you just move in?" or "are you waiting for your things to arrive?" Having said that, we still left our basic furniture and appliances with our girls to fill their three-bedroom condo, gave away multiple carloads and held endless garage sales. It makes me wonder if we, nomads had that much stuff, how much more do other, more settled people have. Most of the stuff we got rid of seemed necessary at the time, but over time was unused, forgotten and mostly unnecessary.

So in May, our "New Homeless" life began and since then we have spent a little time with my mother and more extended time with Toshiaki's parents in Yamada (see Renew Yamada). Toshiaki was there for three months this summer. We have been fortunate to use JoAnn's warm residence as our second home in Tokyo to store our minimal luggage (consisting of clothing, primarily, Toshiaki's knives and my writing materials) and crash for interval periods.

The freedom that two suitcases each, allows is indescribable. Yes, I realize it's not for everyone and I don't profess this as a life-long plan however, we have decided to stay as light as possible for as long as possible. Our New Homeless venture now includes housesitting. We have been spreading the word amongst the foreign community, that we are available to care for homes, plants and animals while people take vacations or visit their homeland. At present we are on our second venture and I will catch up on those experiences in future writings.

It's been five months and so far Toshiaki and I have tried to make wherever we are, our home. We found that we have all we need and as one 'zen' friend said recently, " the key is to want what we have." We are grateful to our family and friends who have opened their homes. The gifts we have experienced have taught us that 'less really is more.'

At Random

By MARY BETH HORIAI GREEN LIVING Without water there is no “green” and there is no “living.” The connection between food, energy and everything we care about depends upon water. Its magical presence makes up the majority of our bodies, flows through our rivers and streams, fills our oceans, evaporates invisibly and then falls on […]

Hollywood has made enough futuristic dystopian movies to give us a glimpse of what a trash-filled world will look like. Many often showing the corner of our famous Welcome to Las Vegas sign, tilted, half-buried and covered in rubbish or sand. This image always piques my interest. What can we do to avoid a future […]

What a great post Mary Beth. This speaks to the heart of so many of the challenges we face today. Between the growing population and the “consumer” role that so many accept we’ve put modern society on a collision course with the reality of a finite planet.

It is interesting to read how you and Toshiaki are experiencing life. Thank you for sharing and for expressing the concept of “living lighter on the planet” in such a direct and positive way. I love your resourcefulness.

Be here now, want what you have, and enjoy life in all it’s splendid beauty. No amount of money can improve the beauty of a flower, the touch of a loved one or the heartfelt posts of a good friend on the other side of the world. Thank you for your gift.

Hi Marybeth
Enjoyed your article very much. We find our selfs struggling with all “the stuff” . It is all unraveling for us in slow motion. I found comfort and hope in you’re writing. Thank you for your transparency. Less is looking like more for us.
Love you, Celeste

I love this post. I’m entering a phase of my life where I’m really eager to be as untethered as possible, making efforts to rid myself of the unnecessary, and I’m so glad to see that it’s been a rewarding experience for you! Take care of yourself!